Palat scored 23 goals and had 59 points this season in Tampa and is a finalist for the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year. Palat and fellow Calder finalist Tyler Johnson teamed up to take the Lightning by storm with their success this season. Coach Jon Cooper used their chemistry from their time in the AHL together in Syracuse to their advantage to get the team back to the postseason.

In the playoffs, Palat had two goals and three points in three games as the Lightning were swept out by the Montreal Canadiens.

Palat’s big season was good enough to get him noticed by the Czech National Team as he participated in the 2014 Sochi Games. He was a seventh-round pick of the Lightning back in 2011 and is expected to pick up where he left off this season.

Can’t really decide on what kind of impact player I think Palat is gonna be, but he’s definitely looking like he’s gonna be a consistent top-6 forward. With that in mind this looks like a pretty solid deal to keep him around for the next few years. Lightning’s future is bright, they should be really dangerous when Drouin comes around.